Travel Diaries
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Quiet, contemplative Shaw Island is the perfect place to visit if you’re looking to get away.
Located in the geographic center of the San Juan Islands, Shaw is the smallest of the four islands at only 7.7 square miles and is home to a mere 200 residents. Shaw’s residents like the quiet life and offer few amenities to attract tourists. There are no inns, resorts or bed-and-breakfasts. The only accommodations are a dozen primitive campsites at Shaw Island County Park. The park does offer a sandy, inviting beach and a day-use area for picnickers. To find it, follow Blind Bay Road and turn left on Squaw Bay Road, then left on Indian Cove Road. Bicyclists looking for a tranquil outing will enjoy Shaw’s wooded roads, especially the figure eight-shaped loop that covers most of the island. Follow Blind Bay Road to Ben Nevis Loop Road, then take Hoffman Cove Road to Squaw Bay Road, which leads back to Blind Bay Road. Where the loop crosses Broken Point Road, stop and visit the Shaw Island Museum, which is sheltered by timbers... (0 votes)
One trip to the beautiful and varied island of Fidalgo and you’ll want to stay a lifetime.
The easternmost of the San Juan islands is home to the city of Anacortes, full of lively residents who love art and nature and are who extremely proud of its maritime heritage. The city dedicates every first Friday of the month to the First Friday Gallery Art Walk, an wonderful excuse to get out and visit the numerous art galleries, shops and museums throughout the downtown area. Art is also ever present with the many outdoor murals of current and past residents, shopkeepers, mayors, newspaper editors — and a self-portrait of the mural artist himself, Anacortes native Bill Mitchell. The island has close to 20 parks, not including the Anacortes Community Forest Lands — 2,800 forested acres within the city limits. The land includes lakes, streams, wetlands, meadows and more than 20 miles of hiking, biking, and horse riding trails throughout. Causland Memorial Park, just blocks away from downtown, is host to unique decorative rock... (0 votes)
Whether it’s a subtle dry Siegerrebe or a tangy spicy cider you’re looking for, a variety of fine beverages are available through wineries on San Juan and Lopez islands.
San Juan Vineyards 3136 Roche Harbor Road, Friday Harbor (360) 378-9463 www.sanjuanvineyards.com Don’t miss: The ambiance of sipping a glass of San Juan wine on the deck outside the old school house. San Juan Island is home to San Juan Vineyards, a family owned, award-winning winery. The 33-acre grounds include a renovated 1896 school house, winery building and chapel built in 1998. Started in 1996, with its first wines produced in 1999, the vineyards produce more than 4,000 cases a year of Madeleine Angevine, Siegerrebe, Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet-Merlot, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mona Vino, Cabernet-Merlot and Pino Noir. Some grapes are grown on the estate, while others are from Yakima and Columbia Valleys. The tasting and gift shop is open to visitors 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, depending on the season. Events at the winery this year include... (0 votes)
With spectacular scenery, wildlife adventures, quiet getaways and just enough city diversions to liven things up, San Juan Island offers the total vacation package.
Ferries drop visitors at picturesque Friday Harbor, the largest city in the islands. It is easy to spend a day or more visiting its shops, galleries, museums and restaurants. Friday Harbor has numerous eateries, from a casual outdoor oyster grill near the ferry to fine waterfront restaurants. There’s ethnic cuisine, Northwest fare, seafood and simple soups and sandwiches. If you prefer a pint with your meal, try San Juan Brewing Company’s Front Street Ale House. In search of whales? Check out displays at the Whale Museum, then charter a tour at Friday Harbor or Roche Harbor to see them in the wild. Kids can also head to Island Rec’s skate and family park, bowl at Paradise Lanes or catch a movie at the Palace Theatre. In the evenings, San Juan Community Theatre offers frequent plays, musical acts and events. The San Juan Historical Museum, 405 Price St.... (0 votes)
La Conner, a vibrant, historic waterfront village filled with artists, offers the slower pace of a gentler time.
Home of the esteemed Museum of Northwest Art, as well as numerous art galleries and fine shops, it is a good place to stop for a few hours, or a few days, on the way to or from the San Juan Islands. Founded in the 1880s, La Conner is nestled in cedar and fir forests. Just across Swinomish Channel from Fidalgo Island and the Swinomish Indian Reservation, it is about a 20-minute drive from downtown Anacortes. Since the 1930s and 1940s, Northwest artists have drawn inspiration La Conner and its spectacular surroundings — the lovely tulip fields and rural scenery of Skagit Valley, and nearby forests and communities. The most famous of these artists, Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves and Mark Tobey, created a fresh style and a regional identity known as the Northwest School. When the Museum of Northwest Art was established in 1981, La Conner was deemed a natural site because of its association with... (0 votes)
The waters around the San Juan Islands are home to Northwest icons — pods of resident orcas or “killer whales,” who sometimes delight tourists and locals with their athletic leaps and breaches, and other times simply inspire awe with their majestic presence.
Live whales can be seen from the whale watching charters that depart from several areas on the islands and Anacortes. Whales also are often seen from Lime Kiln Point State Park on the west side of San Juan Island. Dedicated to whale watching, the park hosts more than 200,000 visitors a year. Open 8 a.m. to dusk, it also has shoreline hiking trails and picnic sites near a historic 1919 lighthouse. The social black and white orcas are the largest members of the dolphin family. Nineteen pods in the Washington and British Columbia area are made up of extended families with females at the center. J, K and L pods, which spend much of their time around Puget Sound, the San Juans and southern Vancouver Island, are known as the southern resident community, while 16 pods... (0 votes)
Enjoy a stroll through an outdoor sculpture park, an afternoon whale watching trip or a shopping excursion — all in the San Juan Islands.
The islands’ remarkable natural beauty makes the cares of the world slip away. Everyone can find something that appeals to them with the islands’ wide variety of diversions and educational opportunities. Perhaps most exciting of all, the waters surrounding this spectacular archipelago are home to pods of wild orcas. Welcome to the islands |
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